Forever Young? //MxM//OxO//CLOSED

Atlas immediately cuddled up to his boyfriend, a soft smile on his lips. "Are you sure? I think I remember yours being really comfy."

"It's comfortable enough, but not as comfortable as yours." Rowan kissed Atlas softly and smiled. "You're always here."

"That's very true, I spend too much time on my bed. I write songs, I listen to music, I obviously sleep, I do homework even though I have a desk, and just about anything honestly." Atlas giggled. His arms had been curled up in front of him and pressed up against Rowan's chest, but he slid them around Rowan's neck and pulled himself closer to his boyfriend.

Rowan rested his head on top of Atlas's and sighed happily. "And I'm here with you the majority of the time. I don't spend much time over at my own house anymore, to be perfectly honest with you."

"Yeah true, and for that, I'm kinda glad. That means I get to spend more time with you~" Atlas hummed, with a soft smile. There was some stomping up the stairs then a small knock on Atlas' door even though it was open.

"Hey, Atlas? Can I have some Oreos?" It was Jeremiah. He always asked Atlas for permission for things, instead of their parents since they were super busy. Atlas lifted his head to he could see his brother.

"Of course, Miah. Just don't have too many, k?" A large smile grew on Jeremiah's face as he ran back downstairs.

"Miah is adorable…" Rowan sighed, watching the boy run off to go get oreos. "Reminds me a bit of myself when I was his age. I always asked Rachel for things since our parents were never around."

"He is and I love him to death. But he even asks me for things when my parents are here only because I'm a lot more lenient. My parents could both be here for a year and he'd still ask me." Atlas laughed thinking about it. "From time to time, I get in trouble because of that. As much as he loves me, if he gets in trouble for eating or doing something, he blames me for giving him permission."

"Ah… classic younger sibling behavior." Rowan snickered. "I'd have done that if my parents were around enough to find out. Rachel wasn't incredibly lenient, though. She was a pretty responsible step in mom."

"That's probably good actually." Atlas giggled and rested his head again. "Once I was old enough for us not to need a babysitter, I basically said 'you can do whatever you want, just ask me first'. And I've kept that rule this whole time. It's rare when I say no to something."

Rowan laughed again. "What kind of children are you raising?" He teased. "Hopefully Miah won't be too irresponsible when he's an adult."

"This is why I should never have kids." Atlas admitted with a large smile. "Okay, but to be fair, they aren't super irresponsible yet. Like Miah's a good kid and he's only in fourth grade. Boxer is a decent kid as well. I'm a bit worried about when he goes into eighth grade, but he still have half a year-ish 'til then."

"Mm. Well, Rachel wasn't incredibly responsible either, to be honest… at least not for herself. I mean, she got married right out of high school and her husband is a dick."

"Gross." Atlas let out a small laugh at his response. "Um, sorry about that… Anyway I wouldn't do that even if I loved someone very very much. I'd wait at least a couple years."

Rowan shrugged. "I think it can work out sometimes, but she wasn't ready, and she picked the wrong person. But of course, now they have kids that I never get to see and she's stuck with him because she can't support herself."

Atlas frowned, feeling a bit bad for his initial reaction. "Oh man. That's really rough. I hope things end up working better for her in the future."

"Yeah… I keep telling her she needs to get a divorce, but she doesn't want to do that to the kids, and again, she doesn't make enough money to support herself."

"I can kinda understand that." Atlas nodded a little to himself. "I just hope things start looking better for her soon then, whatever that may mean."

Rowan nodded and sighed softly. "Yeah… I just don't know what to do for her. I mean, I'm her brother. I feel sort of obliged to help her, but I don't know that there's anything I can do."

"At this point, it doesn't look like there's much you can do besides be there for her if she ever needs you." Atlas smiled softly and pecked the tip of Rowan's nose to lift the mood a little.

"Yeah…" Rowan returned the kiss and the soft smile. "I'll try my best. I care about her a lot, even if she's a stupid bitch sometimes."

Atlas giggled. "Well, I know you'll do a good job, 'cause you're always here for me when I need it." He tightened his arms around Rowan a little, his smile still on his lips.

"Thanks, Atlas." Rowan hugged Atlas tightly and pressed several small kisses to his face. "You always know how to make me feel better, don't you?"

His smile grew with all the little kisses. "I guess I do, huh-"

"I wanna hug too!" Jeremiah had walked past Atlas' room and saw them. He ran inside and hopped onto the bed, hugging both of them.

(Am I making Jeremiah younger than 4th grade?? I have no idea since I literally don't know any 4th graders.)

(Who knows lmao)
Rowan laughed and hugged Jeremiah tightly. "Alright, alright. You want kisses too?" He snickered. "Are we all cuddling now?"

"Ew, no kisses!" Jeremiah revolted. Although, he did keep a very tight hold on Atlas and Rowan. Atlas giggled, hugging Jeremiah back.

"Ah, Miah, don't squeeze us to death with your hugs. I'd very much like to live."

Rowan gagged and choked playfully. "Ahhh! You're strangling me, Miah!" He tousled the boy's hair and snickered a bit.

"OH sorry!" Jeremiah immediately loosened his grip quite a bit. "Is that better?" He asked with wide eyes, looking up at the others.

"Yes, yes. I'm just playing with you, Miah. I'm fine. It'll take more'n that to kill me." He tousled Jeremiah's hair again.

Jeremiah smiled again and giggled. "Also, I'm done with my homework, can we go see Milo now?" He asked, turning his attention to Atlas.

"I don't know, can we?" Atlas smiled, turning the attention to Rowan.

"Mmmmm… sure. Let's go." Rowan got up and stretched, his back cracking loudly. "C'mon, kiddo. Time to go see Milo. Maybe I'll even let you hold the leash."